A Plea For Help Can Change Lives
by Scififan33
Summary: At the end of first year Harry sends a letter that will end up changing his life for the better, as long as they arrive in time to help him after Dobby makes things worse at Privet Drive. Past child abuse mentioned
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, if I did Sirius would never have died and Harry would have actually matured and learnt in the books. _

_As this starts at the end of first year there are no pairings, if this covers up to fourth year then there may be but no HarryGinny as that is my least favourite pairing._

**Chapter 1**

_Dear Madam Bones,_

_My name is Harry Potter and I am a student at Hogwarts. I found your name in a book in the library and am hoping you can help me with some legal things or suggest someone else who can. This is my owl Hedwig, she is very smart and will wait for your answer._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

Amelia read the letter again and then looked over at the owl who had found her at home after a rather boring day doing paperwork and butting heads with the Minister. She was a very beautiful bird and obviously smart. She had never expected to get a letter from the Boy-Who-Lived himself, her niece had mentioned him in her very first letter home, stating that he had been sorted into Gryffindor after the longest Sorting of anybody there which was interesting. She would like to know what other House or Houses the hat had considered for him. She had almost ended up in Gryffindor herself after all. But what could he be asking for help for? She picked up her appointment book and looked through it, as today was the fifteenth of June she would be picking up Susan from the station later and then she was solidly booked for the next week and a bit but after that she could fit him in. So she took out parchment and quill and wrote him a short note.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_I have received your letter and am happy to meet with you. I will arrive at your house on the thirtieth of June at 10am. If this is not acceptable please send a note as soon as possible so that we can arrange an alternate date._

_Sincerely,_

_Amelia Bones_

_Head of the DMLE_

That date would give him time to settle in back at home as well which was always good. She had found that when discussing legal issues with children it was best for them to be relaxed. She sealed the note and then turned to the owl who held her leg out. "This is for your owner, fly safely." She told the bird who took off, hoping to reach Harry while he was on the train.

* * *

><p>Harry lay curled up on his bed, mentally cursing that blasted House Elf for causing this. He may want Harry to stay away from Hogwarts this year for safety but he had caused him more harm than good with his little display. As soon as Vernon realised he couldn't defend himself with magic after the pudding fiasco he had been thrown into his room but not before he'd been given a good thrashing with his uncles' belt. Three days later his back was still throbbing and there was no way to call for help, there were bars on his window and Hedwig's cage was locked just like the bedroom door. Once a day his aunt shoved some food through the cat flap in the bottom of the door and at night he was let out to do chores and clean up. He had completely forgotten about the note he had received on the train from Madam Bones and tomorrow was the thirtieth. He just curled around his lumpy pillow and tried not to cry, why had he been forced back here? Even an orphanage would be better than this.<p>

* * *

><p>Amelia walked up the drive towards number 4, taking in the sameness of all the houses on the street. She didn't understand how people could live in such cookie cutter houses. She liked her home to have personality and Bones Manor certainly did. She was dressed in a good quality conservative muggle suite to fit in, unlike many she knew how to pass as a muggle since she had to work with the police occasionally. She subtly scanned the house with a spell as she approached and frowned, she had detected the famed blood wards but they were barely registering, it would take almost no effort to bring them tumbling down and that didn't make sense. Harry had lived here for ten years straight before leaving for Hogwarts, they should be impenetrable. Something was very wrong. She made it to the door and knocked firmly.<p>

Petunia opened the door and saw the woman in a suite before sneering. "We don't want anything." She went to slam the door.

Amelia quickly put her foot in the gap. "Mrs. Dursley? I am Amelia Bones and I have an appointment with your nephew Mr. Potter." She informed the woman only to watch her go red in anger.

"Potter? There's no Potter here! Go away you freak!" She snarled angrily and every instinct Amelia had honed over the years as an Auror screamed out that something was very wrong here.

"Mrs Dursley I should point out that I am the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I know very well who you are and who lives in this house. You can either let me inside or I will force my way in. it is your choice." She commanded coldly and Petunia recoiled. It would have been different if Vernon was home but he was at work and Dudley was off with his friends, alone Petunia just didn't have the strength to hold her ground. Amelia walked inside, trained eye immediately taking in the lack of any sign a magical child lived inside the home. There were no pictures of young Potter at all, just the woman and what must be her husband and child. She shook off the unflattering thoughts comparing them to various muggle animals and pulled out her wand. A flick of her wand had the small door beneath the staircase glowing as well as a trail upstairs. Curious she opened the door despite the woman's objections only to freeze. It wasn't the sight of the padlocked school trunk that caused the reaction but the sight of the small mattress and ratty blankets as well as the shakily scrawled words on the wall 'Harry's Room'. She felt utterly sick as she took in the signs of just what the saviour of their world had suffered through. It was obvious the space had been thoroughly cleaned by muggle methods but even so she spotted the dark stain towards the back and new what it was, old blood. She pulled out a card and tapped a sequence into it with a wand, sending for an investigative squad and a healer. "Mrs Dursley at this time I have to warn you that I am placing you under arrest."

"You don't have the authority, we aren't freaks." Petunia sneered and Amelia shook her head.

"In taking Mr Potter in you became liable to our laws where he is concerned so she I do have the authority." Amelia told her before stunning her and heading upstairs. She paused as she heard the sound of multiple apparition.

"Madam Bones?" A familiar voice called.

"In here Robards, secure the premises. I need a full search of this house, take special note of the cupboard under the stairs. Healer Jones please come upstairs with me." She ordered and the team quickly moved to obey. She made it to the top of the stairs and saw the door glowing still from her spell, a door with a cat flap and far too many bolts on it. They exchanged concerned glances before she spelled the locks open and pushed the door in. They entered the room, wands in hand and looked around in shock. The bedroom was small and the only furniture inside was rickety and old. A familiar snowy owl was locked in her cage, looking a bit too skinny. But on the bed was a lump that had Jones moving forward quickly. She leant over the lump and reached out to touch it only to startle as it moved. Slowly a head of messy dark hair was revealed and then dull green eyes stared at them. "Mr Potter, its Amelia Bones and this is Healer Maggie Jones. Are you hurt?" She asked gently.

"Are you here to arrest me?" He asked croakily and Amelia frowned.

"Why would I do that?"

"For using magic, but it wasn't me." He answered even as Jones gently helped him sit up. He swayed but managed to stay upright as she began running scans.

"No Mr Potter, we has an appointment this morning, remember? Just relax and let Healer Jones work, alright?" She asked and he nodded.

Maggie worked quickly, appalled by what she found. "I am ordering his immediate removal from this house Madam Bones. This place is obviously unsafe for him. Unless a home can be found for him he will be placed in the Ministry's custody."

"Until we are ready to go to court no one can get wind of this, therefore I will take him in." Amelia answered, staring at the worn out child on the bed. She unlocked the owls' cage and opened the window, removing the bars. "You know where my home is, have a good hunt and then go there." She told the animal who hooted softly before leaving her cage. She flew over to the bed and nipped the boys' ear gently before flying out the window. "Is it safe to move him? Does he need St Mungo's?"

"No, I can handle things here and then finish at your home."

"Good." She quickly made a portkey and handed it over. "Take him as soon as he can travel. I will keep an eye on things here."

"Yes ma'am." She cast a few numbing charms on Harry and then used the portkey to take them to Bones Manor.

_TBC…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Not mine._

_Glad you all like this so far._

**Chapter 2**

As soon as they were gone Amelia began looking around the room, finding the piles of broken toys as well as the oversized clothes in the rickety wardrobe. She felt a floorboard squeak and knelt to pry it up, shocked to find a wand, an invisibility cloak, a photo album and the remains of some treats from the Hogwarts Express. "Robards!" She called and he quickly joined her, evidence book open and a camera around his neck.

"Boss is this…I saw the name in the cupboard."

"Yes, this was Harry Potter's home. Not a word is to be said to anyone outside the team until the court case, am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am." He lifted his camera and she pointed out the contents of the floor. He photographed them and then she gathered them up to return to their owner. He then moved onto the rest of the room, taking extra time with the various methods used to lock the young wizard inside as well as the evidence of blood on the bed sheets. "How badly is his injured?" He finally asked.

"He's been taken for further treatment but nothing life threatening since we got here in time." She assured him and then moved out of the room to look around the rest of the house. It made her sick to compare the conditions the last Potter lived in compared to the rest of his 'family'. Technically there were no real laws governing child abuse in their world, however the fact that he was Harry Potter would ensure the case went through, especially since the family involved were muggles. It was unthinkable to most Purebloods to ever consider doing real, permanent harm to their heirs. But they would eagerly believe muggles were doing it all the time. This could cause a backlash against muggles which would be bad but the case had to go ahead to ensure Potter never ended up back here again. She went back downstairs to find Celia keeping watch over the unconscious and restrained Aunt. "Put her in a cell and then come back. Arrest the Uncle when he shows up."

"What about the son?"

"Take him for now until we can find next of kin to put him with." Amelia ordered and Celia nodded before portkeying out with the prisoner.

Once sure the team had everything under control she left the house and apparated home, walking swiftly upstairs to the guestroom the portkey should have delivered her new houseguest to. Sure enough she found Harry fast asleep beneath the quilt with Maggie Jones sitting beside the bed to keep watch over him. "How is she?" Amelia whispered and Maggie smiled tiredly.

"No need to whisper Madam Bones, I gave him some Dreamless Sleep. I've healed everything and made a complete record. Did you know he hasn't had any immunisations since that October?"

"How bad was it?"

"Several broken bones that hadn't healed properly, borderline malnutrition. The main problem was the wounds on his back, they had become infected and so weren't healing. With a few weeks of using scar reducing cream I hope there will be only very feint scars left. My question is how did Poppy Pomphrey miss all this?"

"I don't know but you can be sure I will be asking her at some point." Amelia sank tiredly into the chair on the other side of the bed and then removed Harry's possessions from her cloak and placed them on the bedside cabinet.

"What will you tell Susan? You can't keep him locked away in here for the whole summer."

"I don't know, I doubt he'll want anyone to know what happened but the case will make that impossible. I will make sure she knows to tell no one he is here." Amelia stayed for a while before leaving to go to work, she had been gone far longer than originally scheduled after all. Just after six Celia showed up to let her know that both Dursley's were now in custody with their son being sent off to an Aunt. So far they had been lucky and neither the Minister or Dumbledore had caught wind of what was happening. The Headmaster had always kept very firm control over anything to do with the name Potter since James and Lily died and she didn't want him interfering before the family could be brought to trial.

An hour later she got to go home and she still hadn't figured out what to say to her niece. Not feeling like apparating she Flooed home and then stopped to stare at the sight of Susan sitting and feeding Hedwig owl treats.

"Why is Harry Potter's owl here Auntie?"

Amelia sighed at the question, so much for having time to ease into things. "Mr Potter will be staying with us for the foreseeable future Susan. You cannot tell anyone he is here, understood?"

"Yes Auntie." Susan agreed, looking very curious but she went back to Hedwig who lapped up the attention and food. Amelia smiled tiredly and headed to her room to change into more casual clothes. She may be a pureblood but there was one aspect of muggle life she eagerly embraced, their clothes. Robes were fine for formal events, school and work but at home nothing beat muggle clothes for comfort and variety. She had even taken to weary muggle slacks and a shirt under her robes when there was any possibility she would be needed in the field as they were better for moving around in. Once changed she slipped into the guestroom to check up on the still sleeping Harry, Maggie having gone home for the night. He had been given enough potion to make him sleep until the morning so nothing had changed since the last time she had seen him. She left him to his sleep and went downstairs to join Susan for dinner.

* * *

><p>Harry woke slowly, feeling like he was lying on a soft cloud while being toasty warm; he didn't really want to wake up. But his back had stopped burning in pain which was odd. He stretched and frowned, since when was his bed so big? He forced his eyes open and blearily looked around before spotting his glasses. He grabbed them and slipped them on to look around properly. He was in a large bedroom decorated in calm blues and creams. The bed was even bigger than the one in Gryffindor Tower but was the same style. He had the feeling he was back in the Wizarding World but why and how? He tried to remember what had happened after he'd been locked in his room.<p>

"Good morning Mr Potter." His gaze darted over to the door to find a tall woman standing there, a monocle over one eye. Her stern look reminded him a bit of Professor McGonagall.

"Who…where…" He was confused and yes a little scared to find himself in strange surroundings.

"Relax Mr Potter, you are safe here. I turned up yesterday for our meeting to find you in rather shaky health."

Harry frowned in confusion and then remembered who he had a meeting with. "Madam Bones?"

She nodded. "You will be staying with me and my niece, Susan, for the rest of the summer. All of your things are in the closet over there, though your wand, cloak and album are beside the bed."

"My Aunt and Uncle agreed to that?" He asked in shock.

"No…Harry, they are currently in Ministry holding cells. Your cousin has been sent to his Aunt."

"What! Why?"

"I've seen the house Harry." She answered gently, moving further into the room. "When I arrived your Aunt denied you lived there and tried to keep me out. As an officer of the law I insisted on entering. As I didn't know where in the house you were I used a spell to find out where you mostly were, do you know what areas lit up?" Amelia asked and watched as he flushed in shame. "Your family is being held on various charges and I hope to have the case seen to before you return to Hogwarts." She sat on the edge of the bed and studied him seriously. "Why have you never told anyone?"

Harry stared at the quilt. "I did, there was this teacher…she promised I wouldn't have to go back but then she was gone and no one would listen. I told Professor Dumbledore I didn't want to go back but he said I had to."

That was more than a little suspicious. "Well I will not be leaving and I am listening Harry. Now it's almost time for breakfast so I suggest you have a shower and get dressed, bathroom is through the door closest to the window, the other is your wardrobe." With that she left the room so he could wash up.

_TBC…_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Not mine._

_I got a review going on about Harry being abused not being cannon and I have to disagree. He may not have been beaten but physical abuse is not the only type. He grew up in a cupboard! He was at least emotionally abused and perhaps even verbally. He was also locked in a bedroom with bars on the windows and a catflap on the door. Yes Harry was in bad condition in ch2 but think about it, Vernon's important meeting ruined by his unwanted magic wielding nephew who he then finds out isn't allowed to use magic over the summer. So like any human he reaches a breaking point and lashes out, hitting Harry with a belt which until fairly recently would have been seen as okay punishment for a child if not taken too far. The only reason Harry got so bad was the wounds got infected due to lack of care and his immune system being down due to lack of regular good meals. Also broken bones, there is no way that Dudley shoving him around wouldn't injure him considering their size difference. Plus kids do occasionally break bones, doesn't mean he was beaten. Just that the Dursley's didn't care to pay for treatment which is neglect. _

_As for Dumbledore, he was a manipulative creep in canon with the way he treated everyone, he will be a manipulative creep here too._

**Chapter 3**

Amelia looked up and smiled, motioning for the teen hovering in the doorway to enter. He did and Susan looked over, smiling at him. "Hi Harry." She greeted cheerfully. Her aunt hadn't told her much but something must have happened for him to be staying with them.

"Hi Susan, Madam Bones." He greeted softly.

"Take a seat Harry, you must be hungry. And please, while at home call me Amelia." Harry nodded and sat down even as food appeared in front of them. It was the best food he had had since leaving Hogwarts. He ate as much as he could but it was less than the other two managed. Amelia didn't like it but she knew it would take time for his appetite to improve. "Harry when we came to your house you mentioned something about magic in the house but it wasn't you who cast it?"

"He said he was a...house elf? His name was Dobby." He answered, looking a little lost and Amelia was surprised, why was a house elf in a muggle neighbourhood?

"Can you describe him?" She asked since it was possible Harry's visitor had been something else claiming to be a house elf, but Harry's description matched. "Did he tell you why he was there?"

"He said that I couldn't go back to Hogwarts, that something dangerous would happen this year, when I told him Hogwarts was my home…he'd been stealing my mail all summer. When it tried to get it off him he ran downstairs and levitated the pudding before dropping it over Uncle Vernon's guests." He explained.

"And you received a notice for underage magic?"

"Yes ma…Amelia."

"Well don't worry about it Harry, I'll sort it out today at the Ministry."

"Thank you, you don't have to go to any trouble."

"It's no trouble. I will have to work late today so the two of you will be alone until dinner, possibly later. Susan if you could show Harry around it would be appreciated. I'm sure you both have summer homework as well, the sooner you get it done the more free time you'll have for the rest of the holidays."

"Have a good day at work Auntie." Susan told her even as the older witch stood to go to work.

"Goodbye both of you." She kissed Susan's cheek and nodded to Harry before heading to the Floo.

`````````````````````````````````````````  
>Amelia sighed and leant back in her chair. It had taken a bit of work but she had found out about the teacher Harry had mentioned. She hadn't disappeared at all, she had been the victim of what muggles called a 'hit and run'. Harry and his classmates hadn't been told as the other teachers hadn't wanted to traumatise them. It was a relief to find no magic involved at all. So she had also started digging into Harry's placement with the Dursley's. That November had been so chaotic that most paperwork from the time was sloppy, incomplete or just plain missing. It did not make her job any easier. The Potter wills had been a dead end since they were sealed by Dumbledore all those years ago. She could not unseal them under the current circumstances without alerting him. Thankfully he was still out of the country dealing with the IWC or else he would probably have stormed in by now over the Dursley's arrest. She needed all her ducks in a row before he returned so that he couldn't interfere. Would Albus condone child abuse, she didn't believe so. The problem was he was always so certain he was right that it could blind him to reality, the man simply couldn't understand family not caring for each other as shown by the blood wards he put so much faith in. They needed love to become strong but in that house there had been no love towards Harry, just contempt. No wonder the wards had been barely holding. Then there was the mysterious house elf with its warning of danger. She would have to alter the wards on the manor so that only the family elves has any access as well as an anti-elf mail ward on Harry's own to keep her from being intercepted by the little annoyance. She sighed and pulled another file towards herself from that horrible month and then frowned at the name on it Sirius Black. She had asked for anything connected to the Potters and their betrayer was connected. But why was it so thin? She flipped it open and then swore. This was really going to stir things up.<p>

_TBC…_  
><em>Short but it seemed a good place to stop and I wanted to get something out before the weekend stops me writing.<em> 


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

**Chapter 4**

Harry followed Susan as she showed him around the manor. He felt very out of place in such a grand home but Madam Bones had said for him to be shown around, not that he thought he'd be here long. He'd be passed off to someone else or back to the Dursley's in days. No one would believe the upstanding family did anything wrong, after all he was the Freak and a criminal.

Susan glanced at the boy beside her. He was nothing like the books said. He wasn't tall and strong but small and skinny. He wore the most awful clothes that definitely didn't fit him. Like most wizarding children she had dreamt of meeting and befriending the Boy-Who-Lived but it hadn't happened. Instead he was in Gryffindor and friends with the disgusting Weasley and know it all Granger. She didn't care that Hermione was a muggleborn, she knew blood status didn't really mean anything. It was the other girls' attitude that was the problem. She wanted to be Harry's friend, not just because he was the Boy-Who-Lived but because he seemed one of the nicer boys, if a bit shy, but that meant the other two as well…Then there was one big questing, why was he here? Something odd was going on. She didn't know what to do or talk to him about except… "Have you done your summer work yet?"

"No. I uh…haven't had the chance."

"I've only started Transfiguration. We could work on that, there's plenty of books in the library to help." She offered and Harry nodded. "Okay I'll meet you in the library." She went to grab her school work.

Harry went to his room and gathered up his books, parchment and quills, grabbing some old pens from the bottom of his bag as well. Then he made his way to the library and sat down. Susan joined him seconds later and sorted her things out by subject so he did too. As much as he hated it he pulled his potions things closer, deciding it was better to get the worst over with. He opened his textbook and began looking for what he needed while Susan continued on her own essay. He read the question again and then through what there was in the book. This happened every time with Snape's assignments, there was barely anything in the textbook.

Susan looked up and saw his frustration so she leant closer and then frowned. "Where did you get that Harry?"

"What do you mean? It's Snape's essay. Just as impossible as ever." He groaned and she sighed, digging through her own books before sliding a piece of parchment to him. There inn Snape's hand writing was a totally different question. A quick look through the text showed plenty of information on the topic as well. "How?"

"I think we need to owl some people…..I can contact Lisa in Ravenclaw to see what her potion essay is and….Greengrass might answer if I owl her. That will cover all four Houses. And you should contact another Gryffindor in case…"

"In case he's picking on me like usual."

"Why does Snape hate you so much?"

"Don't know, but I think it has to do with my Dad."

"We can ask Aunt Amelia if maybe they went to Hogwarts together or something. But either just you or your whole house he can't do this. There is no way a muggleborn could complete this over the holidays, they'd need access to a magical library to find enough information."

"I can send Hedwig to Hermione now about it." He grabbed his pen and scribbled a note on some parchment before copying the question down as well. As if she knew she was needed the snowy owl flew into the room and landed on the table. "Hey girl, take this to Hermione and wait for an answer please." Hopefully the crazy elf wouldn't manage to intercept this message. Hedwig nipped his fingers and then took off.

"Harry where is your other text?"

"What text?"

"The one on ingredient preparation."

"Only one book was on the list."

"Yeah but….Snape never told your class to get it and probably told the Slytherins' in the common room." She sighed. "It's one thing to hear how biased he is but this is ridiculous. Well how about we work on something where we know the teacher is unbiased, astronomy."

"Okay, sounds good." He pulled his book and notes forward as she did the same. At least in this subject they had the same essay to do. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes after a few minutes.

"Alright?"

"Just trying to read my own notes. I hate quills, how do you write with them? Why hasn't the wizarding world embraced pens?"

"Pens?" Susan asked in confusion only to be handed a slender, hard object. She turned it over in her hands and then looked at Harry who quickly wrote out a sentence in perfectly legible handwriting, totally different to his notes. "Wow."

"Cheap, clean, easy to use and when the ink runs out you just throw it away."

"No ink well?"

"The ink is already inside the pen, you can get whole packs of them for a few pounds. They even come in lots of colours too. Then there's note books. Bound books of pages of ruled paper for class notes, keeps them together and in order."

"Okay so that does sound a lot easier. Why haven't I seen them around school?"

"Probably because the supply lists are very firm on what to bring."

"Well I think we need to get some and try them out before school resumes and if they work we take them. Even if we turn essays in using parchment at least our notes will be organised!" Susan grinned and Harry just nodded. "For now just use the textbook and my notes." She offered, moving the parchment so it was between them.

"Thanks."

* * *

><p>"Good morning you two. I hope you didn't stay up too late?"<p>

"No Auntie, Mipsy made sure we made it to bed by nine."

"So what did you do all day?"

"Well I gave Harry a tour of the manor and then we started our summer homework. And that led to a few questions, one of which is, did Harry's parents go to Hogwarts at the same time as Professor Snape? Because he seems to hate James Potter and Harry because of that."

Amelia frowned. "Yes…I do believe they were the same age. I know James and Lily were quite involved in the war, art least until Lily had you. They were both in Gryffindor and Severus Snape was a Slytherin. I'm afraid that was quite a few years after I left so I don't know anything more. You would need to speak to someone who knew them far better than me. James was an Auror but we never worked together unfortunately."

"My dad was an Auror?" He asked in shock. He knew from Hagrid they weren't unemployed drunks but the wizarding version of a cop was unexpected.

"A very good one. I'll see what I can dig out of his record that can leave the Ministry for you." She smiled at him and Harry nodded.

"Can we go into London at some point Auntie? Harry showed me a pen he has and it's so much easier than using a quill and ink! And he told me about notebooks for school too. I know assignments have to be on parchment but for our own notes it'd be so much easier. Maybe there's other things too that would make study easier."

"Not alone. We'll see on one of my days off or I'll assign someone to go with you. You'll have to go to Gringotts first to exchange some gold for muggle currency."

"Thank you Auntie." Susan grinned at Harry across the table, getting a small smile in return. At that moment Hedwig glided into the room, swooping down to land on Harry's shoulder. He took the letter and gave her some of his bacon which she munched happily before preening some of his hair and taking flight again. "Is that from Granger?"

Harry nodded, scanning the letter until he reached the part he knew Susan was waiting for. "Hers is the same as mine." Susan sighed but nodded, they just had to wait and see what answers she got. Amelia raised an eyebrow at her niece.

"Homework issues Aunt Amelia." There was no need to tell her since it was an internal school issue. They would approach McGonagall as deputy headmistress first, then the Headmaster if she did nothing. Only if he refused to do something would they tell her Aunt as a concerned 'parent' rather than Ministry employee.

"Just remember to have fun as well. Harry, I need to speak with you privately before I leave."

"Yes ma'…Amelia." He corrected himself. When she finished eating he followed her from the room.

"I thought I would put your mind at ease, the mark on your record for underage magic has been removed. Within the wards of the manor you can practice magic and Susan knows this but please stick to what you already know. Also the teacher you mentioned who disappeared, she didn't. She was the victim of a hit and run, the schools staff simply didn't want to upset you all by telling you."

"Oh." She was dead? He swallowed, that was horrible. She had been the nicest teacher he had ever had.

"I've also asked for every file dealing with what happened back then. There are quite a few irregularities I still need to look into further. It would be best to get your parents will unsealed but without Dumbledore agreeing it will be almost impossible."

"Can't I just ask for them to be opened?"

"Not while underage." It would make it a lot easier if he could. She led him to the hall where the Floo was to find Susan waiting to say goodbye. "Hopefully I won't be as late tonight. I will also arrange a day for your outing. Have a good day." She told them before stepping into the Floo ad heading for the Ministry.

_TBC…_


End file.
